Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an
independent city in
Virginia,
United States. The population was 33,740 at the 2000 census. It is in
Tri-Cities area of the
Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The
Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Petersburg (along with
Colonial Heights) with neighboring
Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes.
At the time the English arrived in Virginia in the early 1600s, the site was occupied by a significant
Powhatan settlement, shown on
Captain John Smith's map as
Appamatuck, and was the seat of a sub-tribe of the same name, governed by a "queen" who was a client of
Chief Powhatan.
Petersburg grew from the former Fort Henry, established on the south bank of the Appomatox in
1645. The city developed rapidly, and the
Virginia General Assembly formally organized it in
1784. The Battle of Petersburg in
1781 was a part of the British attempt to regain control of Virginia.
The Port of Petersburg became renowned as a commercial center for transporting and processing
cotton,
tobacco and metal, produced and shipped from the region. As travel technology developed, Petersburg became established as a
railroad center, with links completed to Richmond to the north, Farmville and Lynchburg to the west, and
Weldon, North Carolina to the south. The last major line was to the east, when the
Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was completed in 1858.
Paved streets began to appear in
1813, soon followed by a canal bypassing the Appomattox falls; railroad lines linking it to all points of the compass came next, gaslights were introduced in 1851, and a new municipal water system was installed by 1857. All these civic improvements helped attract and hold a substantial business community, based on manufacture of tobacco products, but also including cotton and flour mills and banking.
Its
1860 population was 18,266, half of whom were black, and nearly a third of them were free. Ninety percent of the white half were native Virginians, whose devotion to the cause during the
War of 1812 inspired the nickname "Cockade City" in honor of the rosette they wore on their caps. When
Civil War came in 1861, Petersburg's men again responded, and they provided the South several infantry companies and artillery units, as well as three troops of cavalry.
In 1864, Petersburg came to be of importance in the
American Civil War during the
Overland Campaign of
Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Because of the railroads, Petersburg was the lifeline to
Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy. After the
Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant stayed east of Richmond and headed south to Petersburg. Grant decided to cut off the rail lines into Petersburg. On June 9th, troops under William F. "Baldy" Smith, of the 9th Corps, attacked the
Dimmock Line. The Dimmock Line was a set of defensive
breastworks erected in 1861 and 1862 to protect Petersburg against the
Army of the Potomac under General
George McClellan during the
Peninsula Campaign. The Confederate troops at this time numbered around 2000. The lines could have easily been taken, but with the memory of Cold Harbor still fresh, Generals Smith and Hancock were reticent to attack a fortified line. Confederate General
P.G.T.Beauregard, commanding the troops at this time, alerted Lee that he was facing the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg. Lee later arrived, and the 292 day
Siege of Petersburg began.
On the Eastern Front, the trench lines were very close together. One soldier in the 48th Pennsylvania, a coal miner in his civilian life, remarked aloud "We could blow that battery into oblivion if we could dig a mine underneath it." Colonel
Henry Pleasants, Division Commander, took this idea seriously and moved it up the chain of command. The plan was given the go ahead. On August 9th, the mine was exploded. Due to poor Union leadership and the timely arrival of
Confederate General William Mahone, the Union lost the
Battle of the Crater with over 4000 casualties. This famous battle is portrayed in the motion picture "Cold Mountain."
The Siege of Petersburg ended in April, 1865, and preceded
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender and the end of the war.
Confederate General Ambrose P. (A.P.) Hill died on the last day the Confederates occupied the Petersburg trenches. The extended network of entrenchments established a precedent in warfare that would be seen in Europe during
World War I.
The Petersburg area is also home to
Virginia State University founded in 1882 (in Ettrick), one of the first fully state-supported four-year institutions of higher learning for
African-Americans. In 1874, James M. Wilkerson,Sr founded a business named the Wilkerson Undertaking Company which is currently operating as the James M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment,Inc
www.jmwilkersonsince1874.com one(1) of the oldest black owned firms in the United States opened during resconstruction. Central State (psychiatric) Hospital and
Fort Lee, housing the U.S. Army
Quartermaster Corps Center and School, are also located nearby. The city was also ringed with a series of fortifications during the years of "
Reconstruction" following the War, which are no longer active.
Located along the
eastern seaboard, approximately halfway between
New York and
Florida, Petersburg is at the juncture of Interstates 95 and 85, just 23 miles south of Virginia's state capital,
Richmond. The city is one of 13 jurisdictions that comprise the
Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Petersburg is a part of the
Tri-cities, Virginia regional economy known as the "Appomattox Basin" that includes the counties of Dinwiddie and Prince George, the southern part of Chesterfield County, and the cities of Hopewell and Colonial Heights.
Petersburg is located at (37.21295, -77.400417).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 60.1
km² (23.2
mi²). 59.3 km² (22.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.29%) is water.
Petersburg is located on the
Appomattox River at the
fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental
bedrock) and a
coastal plain (coastal
alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses it, for there will usually be rapids or waterfalls. Because of these features river boats typically can not travel any further inland, making the location the
head of navigation. Because of the need of a port, and ready supply of water power, settlements often developed where a river crosses the fall line.
The most prominent example of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the
United States where the
Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 33,740 people, 13,799 households, and 8,513 families residing in the city. The
population density was 569.4/km² (1,474.6/mi²). There were 15,955 housing units at an average density of 269.2/km² (697.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 18.52%
White, 78.97%
African American, 0.20%
Native American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.59% from
other races, and 1.00% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population. Following school integration in the 1960s, many white families moved to suburban Colonial Heights, Va.
There were 13,799 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were
married couples living together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,851, and the median income for a family was $33,955. Males had a median income of $27,859 versus $21,882 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,989. About 16.7% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.
*
R&B singer
Trey Songz was born in Petersburg.
*
R&B singer
Tyra Bolling was born in Petersburg.
*
NBA All-time great
Moses Malone was born in Petersburg.
*
NBA Player
Mark West was born in Petersburg.
*
NFL Defensive Player
Ricky Hundley was born in Petersburg.
*
NFL Ricky Smith General Manager of the Houston,TX Texas Texans football team was born in Petersburg.
* Actor
Stoney Jackson was born and raised in Petersburg.
* Actor
Blair Underwood was raised in Petersburg.
* Actor
Joseph Cotton was born and raised in Petersburg.
* Punk Rocker
Dee Dee Ramone was born at Ft. Lee Army base in Petersburg.
* Reggae Band A.A.E.(
Awareness Art Ensemble), featuring Olamina born in Petersburg.
*
Keith A. Ridley,IV of the Ridley Funeral Estab.Inc(DC) was born and raised in Petersburg.
*
Official City Government Website
